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Recently, I used maple syrup in the Pecan Pie recipies. Most of us are familiar with the taste of maple syrup (from eating pancakes), but what is maple syrup and what do the grades mean?

What is Maple Syrup?Maple syrup is made by reducing the clear sap from maple trees into a high concentration sugar suspended in water. When the maple sap is harvested, it is a watery liquid (not thick, sticky, and viscous like other saps we are familiar with). This sap mostly water, about two percent sugar (with some impurities). The sap is then boiled until much of the water has evaporated. During the boiling, impurities rise to the top and are skimmed off (like making a stock). Once enough water has evaporated so that the sugar content exceeds 67%, the sweet liquid is considered maple syrup. The lightness of color and strength of flavor is dependent mainly upon when the maple syrup was harvested and the weather and growing conditions of the maple trees for that year. Typically, lighter syrups are harvested earlier in the season.

Maple Syrup GradeThe United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) assigns grades to the maple syrup sold in the the U.S. These grades are: Grade A Light Amber, Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber, and Grade B. The grading of syrup sold in the United States is voluntary (like USDA Beef Grading).

Grade A Light Amber (or Fancy) is very light in color and has a faint, delicate maple flavor. It is usually made earlier in the season when the weather is colder. Many people use this grade for serving on pancakes. It is also widely used for making maple candies.

Grade A Medium Amber is darker and has an easily discernable maple flavor. I like using this grade for serving on pancakes and waffles. I also use it for baking since it has a stronger flavor than Light Amber.

Grade A Dark Amber is very dark and has a strong maple flavor. Some people like the stronger flavor and use it as a table syrup, but this grade is mostly used for cooking and baking.

Grade B, sometimes called Cooking Syrup, extremely dark in color and has an extremely strong maple taste as well as hints of caramel. Because of its strong flavor, this s predominantly used in baked goods.

StorageMaple syrup should be refrigerated to ensure freshness (even if the bottle hasn't been opened). You can also freeze maple syrup to extend its life indefinitely. If the syrup is refrigerated in glass containers, then the syrup will maintain quality for a year. Plastic bottles are a little porous, so refrigerator shelf life is usually around three to four months. If you need to store syrup purchased in plastic bottles for longer term storage, pour it into a glass bottle or jar and refrigerate.

Use as a sugar substituteIn general, maple syrup can be substituted for granular sugar in baked goods by following these rules of thumb:For each cup of granulated sugar, use 1-1/2 cup of maple syrup.Reduce other liquids in the recipe by about one-half.Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of maple syrup.Decrease oven temperature by 25°F.

Pancake syrupsMost syrups sold as pancake syrups are not maple syrup. These syrups are made of either cane sugar or corn syrup and contain a few percent of maple syrup for flavoring. Real maple syrup has a more robust flavor and (as my wife says) tastes less man-made.

Turpentine is also tapped from trees, however it is distilled, not reduced. One must be certain to ascertain the variety of tree being tapped before one should sample the sap. Sugar Maple, Ok. Conifer Not OK. :-D

Technically speaking, the last entry he mentioned his recent increase in traffic was LAST Monday. If you don't appreciate Michael's hard work and success, then simply DON'T COME. I highly doubt anyone is forcing you to read this blog. I suggest you go find an unsuccessful vegan recipe blog to satisfy your needs and stop posting your negative remarks here.

Then again, any form of vegetation is considered a living organism as well, for shame! You'd better stop eating these as well, lest you become a "murderer" like the rest of us!

To Michael:

In all seriousness, this is a great blog and the recipe charts are simply amazing, so simple and compact yet so intuitive and complete. It really boggles my mind that such a superior format has not been more widely adopted! Keep up the good work!

I have kept maple syrup, packed in vacuum sealed bottles, for well over a year with no discernable loss of flavor. I have found medium amber to be the most flavorful; light amber does not have enough flavor. Also, the darker the grade, the lower the price. Although it is expensive in the store, I recommend going to the source to buy it. Currently in Wisconsin, a gallon of maple syrup, bought from a producing farm, goes for $26-$30 per gallon - much more reasonable than the $6-$8 a oint in the store.

Another "difference" between types of maple syrup is whether it is evaporated or boiled down. The old way was to boil down the sap to the syrup over a outdoor open fire, but most modern farms use an evaporator, as the old way is slow and expensive. However, most Canadians will tell you that the old-way boiled down syrup is the best, and if you can still get it at a market it is a lot more expensive, but well worth the cost. I had a 2 litre jug of boiled down maple syrup a few years ago, and have not been able to get anything even close to it it in flavor or consistency since!

Hey, those cooking charts are pretty cool indeed. I must point out though how geeky we are (present company included) for our excitement over things like cooking charts. I admit it, I embrace it, gotta love it. Speaking of charts, feel free to check out my Exam Time Procrastination Flowchart from my student days not so long ago for shits and giggles.

Btw, Michael, did we go to school together (Markella here)? Otherwise you're the 3rd Michael Chu I know/hear of.

What should really be mentioned here is a traditional French Canadian treat called cabane a sucre (no idea what us anglos would call it). It entails taking high quality syrup (typically medium amber), pouring it onto fresh snow and twirling the syrup around a stick as it solidifies (think cotton candy but gooey). This makes a tasty maple popsicle for those lovely winter days.

Great stuff. Maybe you compare different instant pancake mixes and a few recipes for making awesome pancakes. I had some frozen pancakes that you pop in the microwave and they were the best, it's too bad I had to use maple syrup from the states (I live in Canada, eh?). This is gonna help me enjoy pancakes even more, thanks

If someone will mail me an assortment of pancake mixes, I'll do the test... unfortunately, I don't have funds set aside right now to buy a bunch of the same stuff and test it out - although I hope to be able to do that in the future. I'd love to try out different brands or manufacturers and figure out what makes something "good" or "bad".